Ephesians 1:20 in 8 translations
8 distinct wordings, grouped by what each translation is trying to do. Differences from the King James text are marked below.
Early modern English
Seventeenth-century wording and sentence shape. Familiar, rhythmic, and the version most quotations you have heard are taken from.
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set at his own right hand in the heavenly
1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.
Literal, word-for-word
Follows Hebrew and Greek word order and grammar closely, even where the English becomes stiff. Useful for seeing what the underlying sentence is doing.
which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly [places],
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
[in] which he wrought in the Christ [in] raising him from among [the] dead, and he set him down at his right hand in the heavenlies,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
which He wrought in the Christ, having raised him out of the dead, and did set him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
1898 · Public domain · The most extreme word-for-word rendering here, keeping Hebrew and Greek tense and word order at the cost of natural English.
Modern English
Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.
which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
The same mighty power was exerted on the Christ, when he raised the Christ from the dead and ‘caused him to sit at his right hand’ on high, exalting him above all angels and archangels of every rank,
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
The same mighty power was exerted on the Christ, when he raised the Christ from the dead and “caused him to sit at his right hand” on high, exalting him above all angels and archangels of every rank,
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
By which he made Christ come back from the dead, and gave him a place at his right hand in heaven,
1949 · Public domain · Written with roughly a thousand basic English words plus a small Bible vocabulary. The plainest reading available here.
What changes between the King James and modern wording
The modern rendering is printed below with every word that differs from the King James text marked, so the actual divergence is visible rather than left for you to spot.
Which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Word-for-word swaps
- wrought→worked
- set→made
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.